Posted: August 1, 2019 | Updated: October 16, 2023
AGENDA
NOTICE AND CALL OF PUBLIC MEETING
GOVERNMENTAL BODY: THE CITY COUNCIL OF CRESCO, IOWA
DATE OF MEETING: AUGUST 5, 2019
TIME AND PLACE OF MEETING: 7:00 P.M. AT CRESCO CITY HALL
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE ABOVE MENTIONED
GOVERNMENTAL BODY WILL MEET AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SET OUT ABOVE. THE TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR SAID MEETING IS AS FOLLOWS:
ROLL CALL: BRENNO, McCARVILLE, FORTUNE, BOUSKA, CARMAN
ACT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA: All items listed under the consent agenda will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a request is made prior to the time council votes on the motion.
- Approval of the Agenda
- Approval of the Claims
- Approval of Minutes from July 15, 2019
- Approval of Class C Beer Permit (BC) with Sunday Sales to Kwik Trip Inc d/b/a Kwik Star #428
STAFF REPORTS: There may be action taken on each of the items listed below.
- Public Works
- Police
- Administration
- Committee Updates
BUSINESS: There may be action taken on each of the items listed below.
- Green Iowa Americorps Presentation
- Resolution Approving and Adopting the Annual City Street Financial Report from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019
- Discuss Sump Pumps Draining into Streets
- Discuss City Election on November 5, 2019
- Presentation of Long Term Debt Balances and Amortization Schedules
- Presentation of Financial Reports for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019
COMMENTS FROM AUDIENCE:
ADJOURN:
THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN AT THE DIRECTION OF THE MAYOR PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 21, CODE OF IOWA AND THE LOCAL RULES OF SAID GOVERNMENTAL BODY. POSTED AUGUST 1, 2019.
MINUTES
Mayor Bohle called the Cresco City Council meeting to order on August 5, 2019, at 7:00 pm at City Hall. Council Members Brenno, McCarville, Fortune, Bouska and Carman were present. No council members were absent.
Carman made the motion to approve the consent agenda which included approval of the: agenda; claims; minutes of the July 15, 2019 meeting; Class C Beer Permit (BC) with Sunday sales to Kwik Trip Inc. d/b/a Kwik Star #428. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.
Public Works Director Freidhof reported: (a) Planning and Zoning meeting is tomorrow night for rezoning the trailer park property; (b) we got another load of oil in for chipsealing; (c) the final list of 68 ash trees to remove in the boulevards has been compiled and will probably be bid out in September; (d) CBS, Bob’s Electric and Engle Tech met to discuss the plans for the street light replacement project on Highway 9. They hope to get it done in about a week and will try to keep it lit up throughout the project; (e) Schwickert’s repaired the Theatre roof today; (f) Iowa Rural Water has Serveline Insurance which has coverage for water leaks after the meter to pay for the water and sewer used.
City Clerk Girolamo reported: (a) bids were opened for two houses for the housing rehab project on July 22, 2019. One bid was received and accepted for $23,130. The bid for the other house was rejected because it was missing information. It will be re-bid on August 15, 2019; (b) Request for Proposals for development of the trailer park are due on August 12th. All proposals will be sent to the entire Council. A committee will meet to review the proposals and choose which proposals will be presented at the August 19th Council meeting; (c) we are considering doing a discount for customers that sign up to have their water bill paid automatically by ACH and/or for emailing the bill. Council was receptive to the idea but not sure how much to offer and how to finance it. The ACH would save a lot of time in processing payments and save time, cost of cards, and postage for the emails. It will be discussed again in September.
Library Director Kay invited the Council and the public to fill out the community survey regarding the Library. Surveys are available at the Library, City Hall, Chamber, both banks, and online.
Mayor Bohle attended the Upper Explorerland meeting and reported the Oelwein Mayor explained a Rent Inspection Program they started in their city. Oelwein has 860 rentals of their 2600 properties. Rental homes must be registered, pay a fee, and be inspected. They have hired two people to perform the inspections and the program is pretty much self-sustaining.
Katherine Hannigan from Green Iowa Americorps displayed a slide presentation of their programs and the work they have done. They are a service organization specific to Iowa that focuses on energy efficiency and environmental awareness and sustainability. They mainly do home energy audits to increase energy efficiency and reduce air infiltration to save money for their clients. First, they do safety testing by making sure the gas lines are not leaking, check hot water heater and furnaces to make sure they are running efficiently, and inspect attic insulation. Then they run a blower door test to show how leaky a house is. They replace every incandescent bulb with LED, replace aerators and shower heads with high efficiency ones, seal ducts, and insulate hot water heater pipes. Lastly, they give each client an audit report detailing their findings and recommendations. They are based in Decorah and serve six counties including Howard. Their services are free if you are 65 or older, a veteran, disabled or LMI. They work closely with Winneshiek Energy District, Upper Explorerland, Habitat for Humanity, Community Action and other organizations.
Carman made the motion to approve a resolution approving and adopting the Annual City Street Financial Report from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Brenno seconded and it passed all ayes.
PWD Freidhof identified six problem areas where sump pumps drain into the street all year around and run a long distance creating slippery/slimy drainage and icing problems. Each area is so wet that dumping into the yard would cause more problems with neighbors and create a continuous cycle. We estimate the cost to connect the six sump pumps to the closest storm sewer to be a total of about $35,000. By installing drainage tiles, other homeowners could connect to this tile if it goes by their property to dump into the storm sewer. A budget amendment can be done to use reserves in the #620 Capital Improvement Fund. Bouska made the motion to proceed with the project to connect six sump pumps to the storm sewer. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.
Girolamo reported that the following positions are up for election on November 5, 2019: Mayor (Mark Bohle); Council Ward 1 (Alex Fortune); Council Ward 3 (Jan Carman); Council-at-Large (Dave Brenno). Candidate filing is August 26 – September 19, 2019 at the Howard County Auditor’s Office and requires 25 signatures from City residents, or from the respective Ward, if applicable.
Girolamo presented the Outstanding Obligation Report showing $3,493,000 of debt on June 30, 2019. Amortization schedules were also presented showing GO debt payments dropping $65,000 in 2022 and almost $100,000 in 2025. All debt will be paid off in 2034 if no new debt is incurred.
Girolamo presented highlights of the financial activity for fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. Budgeted loss was $2.1 million with the actual loss of $703,867. Carryover projects include the fire building, dump truck, 2nd St E reconstruction, well re-casing, watermain on Vernon Road and the housing rehab project. Fund balances remain healthy with $7.2 million in reserves. Revenues came in at 99% of budget while expenses came in at 87%. Expenses must be less than budget by law. Every department in the General Fund came in under budget except street lighting.
Mayor Bohle asked for comments from the audience. Bouska commented on the Firefighter’s new rescue boat and how excited they are. Kay reported she had seen a story on the Oelwein rental project and how they had condemned many houses so she thought it was an interesting topic to look into. The Mayor pointed out that rentals made up 1/3 of their total residences.
Carman moved to adjourn at 7:52 pm. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes. The next regular Cresco City Council meeting will be August 19, 2019 at 7:00 pm at Cresco City Hall.
Mayor Mark Bohle
City Clerk Michelle Girolamo